DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68026#0135
ROYAL COMMISSION- UPON DECENTRALIZATION.
129
Local Governments, without reference to the date of
challenge, provided only-
(a) that the erroneous payments were drawn by
the payee under a reasonable belief that he
was entitled to them ; and
(&) that the limitations in provisos (3) and (4)
of Article 278A («) are observed.
In regard to deputation allowances, the present limit
to the powers of a Local Government is that the
allowance may not exceed one-fifth of the deputed
officer’s salary or Rs. 300 per mensem, whichever is
less (Article 81, Civil Service Regulations). This limi-
tation gives rise to a considerable number of references
to the Government of India about unimportant cases
in which the equity is clear and in which the discretion
of the Local Government would never be questioned.
It might therefore be suitably laid down that Local
Governments may exceed the limit of one-fifth, pro-
vided the allowance granted does not amount to more
than 50 per cent, of the officer s salary or Rs. 300 a
month, whichever is less. For the present it might be
advisable to have sanctions under this extended limit
reported, upon half-yearly returns, to the Government
of India for information and scrutiny.
In regard to allowances to an official who is appointed
to a temporary post, the Local Governments have
power to give up to 20 per cent, in excess of the
officer’s ordinary salary, with discretion to relax the
rule in cases where the emoluments of the transferred
officer do not exceed Rs. 250 a month. While this
restriction may reasonably be maintained in the case
of appointments of an exceptional character, some
larger liberty might be given in the case of temporary
appointments of the same category as permanent posts
already in existence. In such a case, e.g., if an addi-
tional Commissionership or an additional Judgeship is
created as a temporary measure, the salary of the
officer appointed to the post might with propriety be
regulated by the rules w'hich govern acting appoint-
ments generally.
In regard to conveyance allowances, the rule in the
Civil Service Regulations (Article 1074) lays down
that a permanent conveyance or horse allowance may
be given to an officer who has a large amount of travel-
ling at, or within, a short distance from his head-
quarters, for which travelling allowance is inadmissible
under the ordinary rules. No such special allowance
however may be granted except with the sanction of
the Government of India. There is reason to think
that the latter restriction is unnecessarily rigid, and
that the exercise of the power given by Article 1074
might safely be left to Local Governments who have
provincial settlements of their own, subject to a general
definition of the conditions on which, and the limits
up to which, such allowances are admissible.
In regard to rewards and honoraria granted to an
officer from general revenues or from local funds
administered by the Government, the existing powers
of sanction are as follows :—■
Up to Rs. 100, by the Head of the Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Local Government.
Up to Rs. 1,000, by the Government of India.
Above Rs. 1,000, by the Secretary of State.
Inasmuch as considerably higher limits in the matter
of salaries and allowances are now under consideration,
it is suggested that these restrictions might be corre-
spondingly relaxed, the present safeguards as to the
circumstances in which rewards are admissible being of
course fully maintained. It is submitted, therefore,
that the powers of sanction may be enhanced as
follows :—
Up to Rs. 250, by the Head of a Provincial
Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Head of an Imperial
Department.
Up to Rs. 1,000, by the Local Government.
Up to Rs. 2,000, by the Government of India.
The circumstances in which an officer may receive
fees from a private source or from an independent
public body are prescribed in Article 74 of the Civil
Service Regulations. In this case the powers of
sanction are as follows :—
Up to Rs. 100, by the Head of the Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Local Government.
Above Rs. 500, by the Government of India,
unless the fees are for the conduct of Univer-
sity examinations.
It is submitted that these figures may be altered in
the following manner :—
Up to Rs. 250, by the Head of a Provincial
Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Head of an Imperial
Department.
Up to Rs. 1,000, by the Local Government.
44870*. Might provincial Governments have more
power in the matter of pensions, travelling allowances,
leave allowances, grant of free quarters, transfers to
foreign service, and sanction of expenditure outside
ordinary rules under Article 278 (A) of the Civil
Account Code ? As regards pensions, would the grant
of powers which it may seem desirable primA facie to
give to provincial Governments involve larger delega-
tion by the Secretary of State to the Government
of India ?—It will be convenient* to combine the
answers to both the parts of this question which
deal with pensions. I will refer only to certain pro-
posals for increased powers in this respect which
have recently been considered by the Finance Depart-
ment at Mr. Meyer’s instance.
(а) When an officer with no substantive and
permanent appointment acts in an appoint-
ment of which the pay is not less than Rs.
100, the ordinary rules allow him only half
the pay of the post. But in special cases,
with the sanction of the Government of
India, the acting emoluments may be raised
up to the full pay of the appointment. It is
submitted that this special power might be
extended to Local Governments, in respect to
officers serving under them ; the rule being
declared not to apply to barrister appoint-
ments (rule 1 of Article 546) or to officiating
Law Officers (Article 657). Half pay is
rarely sufficient to attract a competent out-
sider to an acting vacancy ; and the applica-
tions of Local Governments for higher emolu-
ments are never vetoed.
(б) The Government of India have power to
grant a compassionate allowance to an officer
dismissed for misconduct, insolvency or
inefficiency, on the conditions that-
(?) the officer was not appointed in England,
and that his pay did not exceed Rs. 250
per month ;
(ii) the allowance doesnot exceed Jrds of the
pension that would have been admissible
if the officer had retired on medical
certificate.
It is suggested that the limit of Rs. 250 might
suitably he raised by the Secretary of State
to Rs. 500 ; and that the powers of the
Government of India in this matter might be
delegated to Local Governments in respect to
officers serving under them. The analogy
of the Government of India’s powers with
regard to new appointments supports these
proposals.
(c) A pension is not admissible except for per-
manent service. But, upon such conditions
as it may impose in each case, the Govern-
ment of India may allow temporary service
to count for pension if the pension does not
exceed Rs. 10 per month. This limit is
28 years old ; and it is now proposed that
it might be raised to Rs. 50 per month. It
is also suggested that these special powers
might be delegated to Local Governments in
the cases of pension which are within their
powers of sanction.
(d) Interruptions in pensionable service may be
condoned up to the limits, and under the
conditions, described in Article 422, Civil
Service Regulations. It is now suggested
that the Secretary of State should allow the
authority (whether Government of India or
Local Government) who has power to sanction
the pension full discretion to condone any
interruption in service, however long, and
whatever the status of the officer concerned.
It will be understood that there is no
question of making good any deficiency
in pensionable service, but merely of pro-
tecting one period of pensionable service
from being sacrificed by reason of not
being immediately followed by another such
Mr. J. S.
Meston.
6 Apr., 1908.
Article 144,
Civil Service
Regulations.
Article 353,
Civil Service
Regulaticns.
Article 368,
Civil Service
Regulations.
Article 422,
Civil Service
R.'gulations.
33383
R
129
Local Governments, without reference to the date of
challenge, provided only-
(a) that the erroneous payments were drawn by
the payee under a reasonable belief that he
was entitled to them ; and
(&) that the limitations in provisos (3) and (4)
of Article 278A («) are observed.
In regard to deputation allowances, the present limit
to the powers of a Local Government is that the
allowance may not exceed one-fifth of the deputed
officer’s salary or Rs. 300 per mensem, whichever is
less (Article 81, Civil Service Regulations). This limi-
tation gives rise to a considerable number of references
to the Government of India about unimportant cases
in which the equity is clear and in which the discretion
of the Local Government would never be questioned.
It might therefore be suitably laid down that Local
Governments may exceed the limit of one-fifth, pro-
vided the allowance granted does not amount to more
than 50 per cent, of the officer s salary or Rs. 300 a
month, whichever is less. For the present it might be
advisable to have sanctions under this extended limit
reported, upon half-yearly returns, to the Government
of India for information and scrutiny.
In regard to allowances to an official who is appointed
to a temporary post, the Local Governments have
power to give up to 20 per cent, in excess of the
officer’s ordinary salary, with discretion to relax the
rule in cases where the emoluments of the transferred
officer do not exceed Rs. 250 a month. While this
restriction may reasonably be maintained in the case
of appointments of an exceptional character, some
larger liberty might be given in the case of temporary
appointments of the same category as permanent posts
already in existence. In such a case, e.g., if an addi-
tional Commissionership or an additional Judgeship is
created as a temporary measure, the salary of the
officer appointed to the post might with propriety be
regulated by the rules w'hich govern acting appoint-
ments generally.
In regard to conveyance allowances, the rule in the
Civil Service Regulations (Article 1074) lays down
that a permanent conveyance or horse allowance may
be given to an officer who has a large amount of travel-
ling at, or within, a short distance from his head-
quarters, for which travelling allowance is inadmissible
under the ordinary rules. No such special allowance
however may be granted except with the sanction of
the Government of India. There is reason to think
that the latter restriction is unnecessarily rigid, and
that the exercise of the power given by Article 1074
might safely be left to Local Governments who have
provincial settlements of their own, subject to a general
definition of the conditions on which, and the limits
up to which, such allowances are admissible.
In regard to rewards and honoraria granted to an
officer from general revenues or from local funds
administered by the Government, the existing powers
of sanction are as follows :—■
Up to Rs. 100, by the Head of the Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Local Government.
Up to Rs. 1,000, by the Government of India.
Above Rs. 1,000, by the Secretary of State.
Inasmuch as considerably higher limits in the matter
of salaries and allowances are now under consideration,
it is suggested that these restrictions might be corre-
spondingly relaxed, the present safeguards as to the
circumstances in which rewards are admissible being of
course fully maintained. It is submitted, therefore,
that the powers of sanction may be enhanced as
follows :—
Up to Rs. 250, by the Head of a Provincial
Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Head of an Imperial
Department.
Up to Rs. 1,000, by the Local Government.
Up to Rs. 2,000, by the Government of India.
The circumstances in which an officer may receive
fees from a private source or from an independent
public body are prescribed in Article 74 of the Civil
Service Regulations. In this case the powers of
sanction are as follows :—
Up to Rs. 100, by the Head of the Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Local Government.
Above Rs. 500, by the Government of India,
unless the fees are for the conduct of Univer-
sity examinations.
It is submitted that these figures may be altered in
the following manner :—
Up to Rs. 250, by the Head of a Provincial
Department.
Up to Rs. 500, by the Head of an Imperial
Department.
Up to Rs. 1,000, by the Local Government.
44870*. Might provincial Governments have more
power in the matter of pensions, travelling allowances,
leave allowances, grant of free quarters, transfers to
foreign service, and sanction of expenditure outside
ordinary rules under Article 278 (A) of the Civil
Account Code ? As regards pensions, would the grant
of powers which it may seem desirable primA facie to
give to provincial Governments involve larger delega-
tion by the Secretary of State to the Government
of India ?—It will be convenient* to combine the
answers to both the parts of this question which
deal with pensions. I will refer only to certain pro-
posals for increased powers in this respect which
have recently been considered by the Finance Depart-
ment at Mr. Meyer’s instance.
(а) When an officer with no substantive and
permanent appointment acts in an appoint-
ment of which the pay is not less than Rs.
100, the ordinary rules allow him only half
the pay of the post. But in special cases,
with the sanction of the Government of
India, the acting emoluments may be raised
up to the full pay of the appointment. It is
submitted that this special power might be
extended to Local Governments, in respect to
officers serving under them ; the rule being
declared not to apply to barrister appoint-
ments (rule 1 of Article 546) or to officiating
Law Officers (Article 657). Half pay is
rarely sufficient to attract a competent out-
sider to an acting vacancy ; and the applica-
tions of Local Governments for higher emolu-
ments are never vetoed.
(б) The Government of India have power to
grant a compassionate allowance to an officer
dismissed for misconduct, insolvency or
inefficiency, on the conditions that-
(?) the officer was not appointed in England,
and that his pay did not exceed Rs. 250
per month ;
(ii) the allowance doesnot exceed Jrds of the
pension that would have been admissible
if the officer had retired on medical
certificate.
It is suggested that the limit of Rs. 250 might
suitably he raised by the Secretary of State
to Rs. 500 ; and that the powers of the
Government of India in this matter might be
delegated to Local Governments in respect to
officers serving under them. The analogy
of the Government of India’s powers with
regard to new appointments supports these
proposals.
(c) A pension is not admissible except for per-
manent service. But, upon such conditions
as it may impose in each case, the Govern-
ment of India may allow temporary service
to count for pension if the pension does not
exceed Rs. 10 per month. This limit is
28 years old ; and it is now proposed that
it might be raised to Rs. 50 per month. It
is also suggested that these special powers
might be delegated to Local Governments in
the cases of pension which are within their
powers of sanction.
(d) Interruptions in pensionable service may be
condoned up to the limits, and under the
conditions, described in Article 422, Civil
Service Regulations. It is now suggested
that the Secretary of State should allow the
authority (whether Government of India or
Local Government) who has power to sanction
the pension full discretion to condone any
interruption in service, however long, and
whatever the status of the officer concerned.
It will be understood that there is no
question of making good any deficiency
in pensionable service, but merely of pro-
tecting one period of pensionable service
from being sacrificed by reason of not
being immediately followed by another such
Mr. J. S.
Meston.
6 Apr., 1908.
Article 144,
Civil Service
Regulations.
Article 353,
Civil Service
Regulaticns.
Article 368,
Civil Service
Regulations.
Article 422,
Civil Service
R.'gulations.
33383
R